Friday, November 10
Iowa City, Iowa
2:30 p.m. CT
University of Missouri
vs
Western Kentucky
@MizzouWBB Opens 2017-18 Season vs. Western Kentucky on Friday
11/9/2017 12:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Tigers are playing in the Hawkeye Challenge tournament
Mizzou vs. Western Kentucky
Nov. 10, 2:30 p.m.
KTGR Radio
Game Notes
Story Lines
- Mizzou and Western Kentucky square off for just the second time in the history of the programs and for the first time on a neutral court.
- The Tigers have won eight consecutive home openers, with seven of those coming in the Robin Pingeton era. Seven of the eight victories have come by double digits.
- Under Pingeton, Mizzou has outscored opponents in season openers 490-353, winning by an average margin of 19.6 points.
- Mizzou is 35-8 all-time in season-opening games. Mizzou hasn't lost a season opener away from home since Nov. 28, 1987, when the Tigers fell at Iowa, 85-71. Mizzou has won 14 consecutive season-opening games away from home.
- The Hawkeye Challenge includes four teams that finished in the Top-65 of last season's final RPI, two 2016-17 conference champions and four 20-win programs from a season ago.
- Western Kentucky, Mizzou's first opponent, captured the Conference USA title and finished the regular season at No. 35 in the RPI.
- Quinnipiac, the MAAC champions last season, went to the Sweet 16 in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Mizzou and Quinnipiac have never faced each other.
- The Tigers and host Hawkeyes have squared off six times, with Iowa owning a 5-1 edge in the all-time series. The last time the two schools faced off was in the 2004 Hawkeye Challenge. This is Mizzou's fourth appearance in the Hawkeye Challenge in program history ('87, '98, '04).
- Since 2013, Mizzou is a combined 18-2 in its first five games of the season with the lone losses coming to No. 17 Washington and No. 14 California.
- In Pingeton's seven campaigns as a head coach, Mizzou is 6-1 in its first game away from home.
- In both the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll and the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll Top 25, Mizzou is ranked No. 16 heading into this weekend's season-opening tournament.
- In the Coaches Poll specifically, No. 16 is the highest Mizzou has ever been ranked in program history.
- No. 16 is the highest Mizzou has been ranked in the AP Top 25 since Nov. 11, 1984.
- The last time Mizzou was ranked No. 16 was Jan. 5, 1984. The Tigers are 11-0 all-time as the No. 16 team in the nation.
- When ranked No. 16 or higher, Mizzou is 46-15 (.754). The Tigers are 88-40 all-time as a ranked team, including 12-11 during the Pingeton era.
- Despite losing three starters to graduation, Mizzou returns 63 percent of its scoring from a season and that does not include redshirt senior Jordan Frericks, who was sidelined all season with an injury. Frericks has averaged 11.0 points per game in her career.
- The faces on Mizzou's 2017-18 roster have appeared in 504 combined games and have racked up 304 career starts.
- Every returning player has appeared in an NCAA Tournament game.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballKellie Harper Media Availability
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